I can't believe what almost happened to me in there! Ebony thought as she stuffed one heavily-socked foot into a ski boot.

She had felt on edge ever since the conversation that she and Mike had almost had and she needed some fresh air, and a lot of it no matter how cold and snowy it was outside. The visibility could not have been too bad. She always found that a nice, solitary, cross-country skiing trek seemed to calm her nerves somewhat. She never knew what helped her accomplish the goal of relaxation. She could never be certain if it was because of the winter scenery or because of the exhilaration and adrenaline-rush that flowed due to any possible dangers… like hitting a tree head on. Her other foot glided into the ski boot and she suddenly felt free! She was free to glide amongst the winter whiteness with the snowflakes and the wind. She was free to do as she pleased without worrying about anyone except for herself. Locking the boots into her skis, she donned her goggles, hat, and gloves before wrapping a warm scarf around her neck. Then she pushed the garage door-opener that she had in her hands before she held the ski poles in the palms of her hands and pushed off. Ebony launched herself from the claustrophobic realm of her home into the smothering whiteness of the world beyond. To her chagrin, a blanket of white so thick, that she could not even see an inch in front of her, smacked her right in the face.

"No!" Ebony groaned as she came to a halt just beyond her garage doors. It just isn’t fair! Returning to the garage, she rapidly unlocked herself from her skis, freed her feet from the constraints of the heavy ski boots, threw off all of the clothes that she had donned earlier for her ski trip, flung the ski poles away from her in disgust, pushed the garage door-opener again to close the door, and finally stormed back into her house.

"I cannotbelieve this!" she muttered as she entered the living room. "I can’t stay in this house! I’ll go stir crazy if I can’t get outside!" She barged into her bedroom and started rummaging around for something to do.

Ebony tried very hard to ignore the sound of the shower running in her bathroom. She tried very hard not to imagine Mike standing in there with the water gliding down his slick body, the soap traveling to areas only few had seen... including her. Shaking the thoughts from her head, she started throwing clothes around her room in her haste to find something to occupy her time. In her mad scavenger hunt, she came across her swimsuit and the pants to her sweatshirt.

"A workout is just what I need to get my mind off of things," she mumbled as she grabbed those items out of the drawer. Then she headed down to the recreation room.

Mike stood beneath the caressing drops of water cascading from the numerous holes in the showerhead, letting them splash against him and down his smooth skin. While he ran the wash cloth down his body, he thought about Ebony, which he really shouldn’t have been doing considering that he was in a critical state of being high-strung -- sexually aroused. Turning the knob of the temperature control, the water became frigid when he turned it to cold. He always seemed to get so aroused whenever Ebony was within touching distance, hearing distance, smelling distance... any kind of distance! He thought about the massage that he’d received from her. It had been so long since his last massage. His body still knew how to react to her touch, and the frigid water was not helping his aroused state at just that moment.

Mike sighed. Why do I even bother? He turned the water back to warm. It had never worked before and it certainly wasn’t going to work now. When Mike finally emerged from the shower, dripping wet, he was numbed and wrinkled because of the amount of time he had stayed under the cleansing water. It had taken some doing, but he’d finally gotten his body back under control. He dried himself off with the only towel he could find: a fluffy, black one. He started with his toes and then worked his way up to his head -- making certain that he missed no parts in between. When the towel finally reached his head, his nose caught the scent of something wonderfully rich and poignant. He knew that smell because he had smelled it when Ebony had massaged him earlier that day. It was her smell. His body suddenly came alive as his nose drank in the scent.

I am not taking another shower! I give up! Let my body take care of itself!

Quickly, Mike put the towel back on its towel rack and donned the clean underwear that he had brought in with him before he had stepped into the shower. Draping his robe over his shoulder, he exited the bathroom. Just as he had leaned down to grab his shirt, Ebony suddenly burst into the room. Her hair was still dripping wet from the vigorous swim that she had just recently completed, and the black swimsuit that she had donned was still damp. The cool air and the dampness from the suit hardened her nipples, the nipples that Mike’s eyes suddenly locked on to.

"Oh, uh... excuse me, Mike. I - I thought..." She crossed her arms in front of her chest self-consciously as she averted her eyes away from Mike’s half-naked form. "...I thought you might’ve still been in the shower," she stated weakly, catching sight of Mike’s bare, muscular chest. Void of flab and lean with toned muscle, his chest was a sight to behold. When she saw him flex both of his pectoral muscles as he was so prone to do sometimes, she felt a blush spreading across her face.

"S-so I thought that I might slip in here u-unnoticed, grab some clothes, and then slip out again," Ebony continued, examining her hands and then looking up into Mike’s eyes again... which was a mistake.

His eyes, which always seemed to be shifting color, had become the aroused shade of deep blue they always seemed to get when Ebony had aroused him in some way. When Mike looked into her eyes, they took on a sea-green, meaning that he was really aroused.

Why is he looking at me that way? Ebony wondered as she tried really hard not to look at Mike’s naked chest. Mike’s gaze was setting her whole body on fire, which was exactly what her gaze was doing to Mike.

If I don’t have her soon, I’m never going to be able to get her off of my mind! Mike thought as he took a step towards her. As he did that, Ebony took a step back. He took two more steps forward, and because of that, she took two more steps back... right into the closed bedroom door. Mike took another step forward. Feeling that the situation was getting a bit out of hand, Ebony finally asked the question that had been burning away at her mind for the past couple of minutes.

"W-why are you looking at me... like that?" she stuttered, trying to find the doorknob that seemed to be evading her grasp.

"I’m just admiring your beauty," Mike whispered in a husky voice as he took another step forward, nearly closing the small gap that separated them.

I wish he wouldn’t talk to me like that! He’s turning my insides to jelly! Ebony thought as she pressed her back more firmly against the door for the support. Mike took another step forward and found that their bodies were nearly touching.

Oh, God... she smells so good! Mike thought as he briefly closed his eyes. "What’s that lovely scent that you’re wearing?" he asked, placing his nose really close to the nape of Ebony’s neck and taking a long, leisurely sniff.

"C-c-chlorine?" Ebony whispered breathlessly.

"No. It’s not chlorine. It’s something else... something stronger. It’s something sweet and intoxicating," he replied, sniffing again.

"But I’m not wearing anything," she persisted in the husky tones that they both seemed to be using. With those words, Mike’s eyes seemed to become almost midnight blue, and his pupils became really large in arousal.

Searching for the doorknob again, Ebony thought, That was probably not the best thing to say! Her breath seemed to be moving faster in and out of her body due to the fact that Mike was sniffing at and nuzzling at her neck, arousing her even more.

"Then it must be your scent."

"M-my scent?" Ebony questioned in an even more breathless voice.

"Mmm-hmm." He smiled as he ran his nose up and down her neck. Mike then moved his nose closer to Ebony’s nose before asking in a barely audible whisper, "Do you want me to kiss you?"

Mike watched as a myriad of different emotions passed over Ebony’s features, the expression on her face changing with them. He knew that Ebony was thinking very hard about what was just asked of her, weighing the pros and cons. Laughing softly, Mike said, "You think entirely too much sometimes!"

Ebony then opened her mouth, as if she were preparing to say something, before changing her mind. Mike could tell that she had finally come to a decision when her pupils began to dilate. Then with trembling lips, she brought her mouth the short distance to his. Their lips were barely touching, but the almost contact sent chills of pleasure and flames of desire up and down her spine that spread throughout her loins.

"I take it that you mean yes," Mike smiled softly before he closed the minute gap between their mouths.

The contact itself ignited a conflagration that their souls were nearly devastated by. The kiss was so bittersweet at first, just a merging of their two mouths in a game of texture exploration. Then Ebony’s mouth opened involuntarily, inviting Mike’s tongue to maneuver into hers. She released a low moan that caused his body to begin quivering. His hand slowly crawled its way up her sides to her already budding nipples. She gasped with shocking realization at the intimate contact, and the contact of his bare chest against her swimsuit-covered one.

What in the hell am I doing?! With that thought finally invading her clouded mind and with a strength she never knew that she possessed, Ebony shoved Mike away from her and tried to gain control of what was left of her sanity.

"What? Did I do something wrong?" he asked in hurt tones as he regained his balance. His face registered shock at being shoved so hard away from her.

"No... no. It... it was nothing that you did. It’s me." She sighed and leaned even more heavily against the closed door before resting her hand against her face, hiding her expression from him. "I - I shouldn’t be doing this with you... here especially. I made a promise to myself that I intend to keep," she mumbled.

"Promise? What kind of promise?" Mike asked as he sat down on the bed.

Ebony looked at him for a second, but didn’t really see him as her mind traveled down an unpleasant part of her past that he really didn’t need to know about.

"What kind of promise, Ebony?" Mike repeated.

"A promise..." She paused for emphasis before looking Mike directly in the eye. "... that is really none of your business!" These words came out in a sudden anger that confused Mike to no end. Ebony was feeling embarrassed and angry now... and confused. "I think it’s about time that we found alternate sleeping arrangements for you," she continued in a calmer, yet colder, tone of voice.